
“Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Dylan Thomas
**TRIGGER WARNING**
I do not speak for all Women, but for myself and those closest to me, the last 10 days have been profoundly painful; I did not realize how triggered my own trauma would be.
I watched in awe as Dr. Christine Baisley Ford testified and told her story of survival.
I watched in shock as Brett Kavanaugh testified by throwing temper tantrums, losing his composure, putting on the fake tears, justifying his predatory behavior (“boys will be boys”) and trying to be a victim.
I watched in horror as Congress voted 11-10 to confirm him through the first process of nomination.
I watched as our Government told myself, the females in my family, the Women, girls and Femmes around the world, that we do not matter.
Our voices do not matter.
Our stories do not matter.
Our pain does not matter.
But, I am here to say that
I do matter.
Our stories matter.
Our pain matters.
We matter.
The Divine Feminine is more than waking up, She is here and She is GROWLING WITH RAGE.
Humans have raped and pillaged this planet, its animal inhabitants, and people through genocides, crusades, white supremacy and all-out war for eons.
Men have raped and pillaged Women since the beginning of time to place their superiority over us; to place their superiority over all things.
Side note: I do not hate Men. I know that not all Men are predators. I know that there are good Men out there. We are not here to discuss them, though, we are here to call out the predators and discuss how we got to this place as a country, and world. If your initial response to this blog is “not all Men!” then you have missed the point entirely.
I have not met a Woman, in my life, who has not been sexually assaulted.
Read that line again.
And, again.
For the Men who follow my page/blog: your Sister, your Mother, your Grandmothers, your Aunts, your Female/Femme Cousins, your Nieces, your Daughters have or will be sexually assaulted to some degree in their lifetime.
This is not to say that Men do not experience sexual assault, too—they do.
But not in the way Women do, and to compare the two is a false equivalency that helps nothing.
Let’s look at statistics:
- One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives
- In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
- 51.1% of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance
- 52.4% of male victims report being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger
- Almost half (49.5%) of multiracial women and over 45% of American Indian/Alaska Native women were subjected to some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
- 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and nine percent are male
- In eight out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator
- Eight percent of rapes occur while the victim is at work.
How can you look at the next generation and not feel despair in your heart for what they will experience? How can you look at them and not want to change their fate?
I can’t do nothing. I can’t remain silent. I can’t accept this.
I won’t.
The world will hear me roar because:
I have experienced (multiple) sexual trauma in the form of rape and molestation. I have experienced sexual (and physical) trauma in abusive relationships. I have experienced sexual harassment in every workplace. I have had men pleasure themselves in front of me on public transportation. I have been stalked (and fought off an attempted kidnapping, twice). I have been verbally threatened and physically abused on more than one occasion when saying no to a man’s advances. I have been spat on (by strangers) for speaking my mind. I have been sexually assaulted by partners for saying no to sex; relationship rape is real.
And that’s the abbreviated list.
The unrest so many of us are feeling lately is not just the cosmic fuckery going on, it’s the collective.
It’s our trauma coming to the surface.
It’s our Sisters’ trauma coming to the surface.
It’s every single word we have swallowed when biting our tongue’s coming to the surface.
It’s every Woman/Femme to have ever existed finding her/their voice.
And, it’s magnificent to watch.
A few days ago, a prominent Herbalist and Witch posted a blog about sexual abuse in the Pagan community; it was illuminating and heartbreaking. I support you, Sarah.
On Social Media I saw Women, and Men, showing solidarity with Dr. Ford by using #WhyIDidntReportIt and telling their stories.
More recently there was the “blackout” to represent how Women do not matter; a cool concept, but poorly executed. (The idea was/is to change your profile picture to all black.)
I will not give the Patriarchy what it wants; I will not give them my silence.
I will not give them the satisfaction of thinking for one split second that they have won.
I will not shrink myself.
I will not make myself invisible; the world tries to do that already.
I am here to make noise.
I am here to make people uncomfortable.
I am here to rebel.
I am here to RESIST.
Hex the Patriarchy.
Fuck the Patriarchy.
Don’t give up, keep roaring.